JNU to allow final-year PhD scholars back on campus from Monday. Details here

In a detailed notification issued on Saturday, the university said: “All Final Year PhD Research Scholars, including 9B students (both hostellers and day-scholars) who are required to submit their PhD theses on/before 31.12.2021, are allowed to enter into the campus.”

It further said that PhD students of the PwD category will also be allowed on campus. 

In addition to this, the Dr BR Ambedkar central library will be sanitized and seating arrangements of reading halls with 50% capacity will be made before the opening of the library.

Rules for reopening 

• The teaching/learning will continue to be in online mode.
• School/Centre level libraries shall remain closed. After assessing the situation, the decision will be taken later.
• Upon arrival on the campus, every student must fill-up and submit the self-declaration form and adhere to the strict compliance of SOPs as per the aforesaid DDMA order.
• Upon arrival on the campus, every student will produce a Covid-19 RT-PCR negative test report done within 72 hours. JNU Security will ensure compliance.
• Students, teachers and employees living in the containment zone are not allowed to come to the university campus.
• Regular cleaning and sanitization of common areas and high touch surfaces will be ensured.
• No entry for any student/staff/teacher without a face mask in the premises of the university. 
• Any student suffering from any critical illness/co-morbidity is advised to not visit the campus. 

This comes after the Delhi University last month issued an official notification announcing that it would hold physical classes for Science stream students in view of a decline in coronavirus cases.

The university had later deferred its decision, with DU registrar Vikas Gupta saying that the Delhi Disaster Management Authority had not issued any guidelines on reopening of campuses.

Earlier this week, Delhi University Acting Vice-Chancellor P C Joshi said the varsity will be opened in a phased manner as the safety of students is a primary concern.

The Delhi government had last Friday announced that schools for classes 9 to 12, colleges and coaching institutions will reopen from 1 September.

The Delhi University was closed since March last year due to Covid but allowed final year students to return to colleges for accessing labs and take practical classes in February this year.

However, the classes were suspended again in April due to the second Covid wave.

JNU vice-chancellor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar had then said the administration will discuss the matter internally once it receives an official order.

“Whatever are the guidelines issued by the government with respect to Covid, we will follow as an educational institution. Our students are spread across the country and some of them might be living in places where the pandemic is still there. We will give them some time to return. Once the government order comes, we will discuss and plan so that students are not left inconvenienced,” Kumar said.

The university’s students’ union has been demanding the reopening of campus in a phased manner.